Information for upcoming political party caucus meetings in Utah

Deseret News

Published: Sunday, Aug. 2 2015 1:30 p.m. MDT

Crowds of people fill out precinct forms, paw over piles of political pamphlets and get informed at a Republican caucus meeting at the North Davis Preparatory Academy in Layton Tuesday, March 23, 2010. (Brian Nicholson, Deseret News)

Democratic caucus meetings will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, 2012.

For information on where your Democratic neighborhood caucus meeting will be held, please visit www.utahdemocrats.org. You may also contact Justin Daniels at the Utah Democratic Party at (801) 328-1212.

Crowds of people fill out precinct forms, paw over piles of political pamphlets and get informed at a Republican caucus meeting at the North Davis Preparatory Academy in Layton Tuesday, March 23, 2010. (Brian Nicholson, Deseret News)

Everyone is welcome to attend their neighborhood caucus meeting. You need not be affiliated with a party to seek election as a democratic precinct officer or delegate, however, you must be a registered voter. You can register at the caucus meeting.

The Democratic State Convention will be held on Friday and Saturday, April 20-21, 2012. For information on county conventions, please visit www.utahdemocrats.org.

Utah Republican Party

Republican caucus meetings will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 15, 2012.

For information on where your Republican neighborhood caucus meeting will be held, please visit www.utgop.org. You may also contact the Utah Republican Party at (801) 533-9777.

Crowds of people fill out precinct forms, paw over piles of political pamphlets and get informed at a Republican caucus meeting at the North Davis Preparatory Academy in Layton Tuesday, March 23, 2010. (Brian Nicholson, Deseret News)

Everyone is welcome to attend their Republican neighborhood caucus meeting. However, in order to seek election as a precinct officer or as a state or county delegate, you must be a registered voter affiliated with the Republican Party. You can register and/or affiliate at the caucus meeting.

The Republican State Convention will be held on Saturday, April 21, 2012. For information on county conventions, please visit www.utgop.org.

Utah Constitution Party

Utah Constitution Party caucus meetings will be held on Thursday, March 15, 2012.

Everyone is welcome to attend their Constitution neighborhood caucus meeting. However, in order to seek election as a precinct officer or as a state or county delegate, you must be a registered voter affiliated with the Constitution Party. You can register and/or affiliate at the caucus meeting.

Libertarian caucus meetings and the Libertarian State Convention will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 21, 2012.

For information on where the Libertarian State Convention and caucus meetings will be held, please visit www.lputah.org. You may also contact the Libertarian Party of Utah at (801) 565-1988.

Everyone is welcome to attend the Libertarian Convention, but only those who have paid dues and/or signed the pledge 30 days before the convention can vote for candidates. Also, only dues-paying, affiliated members can vote on party business.

Utah Americans Elect Party

The Americans Elect Party will nominate a presidential ticket to be placed on the general election ballot in Utah on Nov. 6, 2012. Americans Elect will not have candidates for any other federal, state, county, or local office.

Any registered voter, regardless of party affiliation, may sign up as a delegate and participate in the online nominating convention. For more information on the convention or how to become a delegate, please visit www.americanselect.org.

What is the caucus process?

Caucuses meet at the precinct level once every two years. A precinct is a group of typically less than 1,000 registered voters assigned by a county clerk to be in the same area (usually a neighborhood). It's the smallest political unit in Utah. A caucus is a meeting of people from a single precinct who are members of the same political party, or who are not members and do not wish to sign up that evening, but are interested in observing how a caucus works. The purpose of a caucus is for a neighborhood to meet and elect precinct officers and state and county delegates to represent the precinct at the state or county conventions. Elected delegates have a significant amount of influence in determining who a representatives will be.

What is a delegate?

A delegate is a member of a neighborhood caucus who has been elected to represent the precinct at convention. A county delegate elects candidates to run for state house, state senate and county offices to run in the general (November) elections. A state delegate elects federal candidates: congressmen, senators and statewide candidates.

What will happen at the caucus meeting?

The precinct chair will be in charge of the caucus and will run the meeting. There will be a prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, the party platform will be read, election of precinct officers will be held and then election of state and county delegates will be held. (Note that the order of officer and delegate elections may differ from county to county).

The Lt. Governor's office will provide more information regarding caucus meetings and conventions at www.vote.utah.gov.